Pre-competition athlete quotes – WIC Kujawy Pomorze 26

A selection of quotes from athletes training at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena Toruń on Thursday (19) ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26.

Yaroslava MAHUCHIKH (UKR) – women’s high jump 

On her decision to spend all the winter in Ukraine:

“The decision was made because it was necessary to recover mentally. Four years of traveling from country to country guessing how things are going in my own city is really difficult. I wanted to stay at home a little longer than one month and so we decided to prepare at home and basically start our season in Lviv to give some joy to the fans. I was surprised how many people came to support me there and how many kids came just to meet me or say hello. All these things gave me much strength, power and motivation to move forward and jump over 2.03m. I want to show world-class jumps and prove that, even in wartime, we can train and compete at the highest level because the main thing is your desire and your dedication in everything you do. 

On her current shape: 

“I didn’t compete a lot during this indoor season. I live in Dnipro city which means the border is a bit far for traveling. That is why I had three competitions only and two of them were in Ukraine. It’s a little bit unusual for me but I was able to get in very good shape. I like Toruń Arena because I got my first gold here at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2021. Now I come back as different person. The difference is in psychological resilience, the difference is in age.” 

On her bad luck at previous World Athletics Indoor Championships:

“I was a bit disappointed not to win gold at the previous two indoor championships. But any medal is important and stepping onto the podium is already such a huge achievement. Of course, I want and will fight for the gold this year. Everything is possible but the most important thing is not to get hung up on it.”

 

Jordan ANTHONY (USA) – men’s 60m

On coming to Toruń as a favourite:

“Me having a world lead is exciting but yet I am the underdog. I am a rookie at the world championships and I am new to the stage. Being a rookie does not change my mindset or my confidence, I will never lose confidence in who I am as a person. Coming here, I feel more excited than I feel pressure.”

On his goal: 

“My goal is to try to break the world record. I am not going to sugarcoat it. Why not break it at the world stage where I am basically racing the world? That is my goal. Sometimes you fall short of your goals but me breaking the world record and not winning would be fine.”

On the USA-Jamaica sprint rivalry:

“I am new to the rivalry. The track needs rookies who are going to show up and shoot the fire. And most importantly be successful against their rivals, not just to talk but back it up on the track. Here, I feel I am in a war against everybody not just against the Jamaican sprinters.”

 

Jereem RICHARDS (TTO) - men’s 400m

On his recollections of the World Indoors in Belgrade in 2022:

“Belgrade was great. It was a blessing, it was a movie and very emotional too. Deon Lendore passed that year, I lost a lot of family members that year too. Deon was a great Trinidad & Tobago athlete, a two-time world indoor medalist individual in the 400m. So, it was just my way of paying my respects to him and doing it in the best fashion ever was winning it in a championship record. It was all in all a great experience.”

On his ambitions this time around:

“The ambition is always to win. I feel like as an athlete we want to collect as many championship titles as we possibly can so the goal is to come out here and win. There’s a lot of really great talent here. The 400m has exploded immensely over time and it’s just been an honour to run in this era of quarter-mile athletes.”

On what’s still left to achieve in his career:

“The Olympics - an Olympic gold medal or an Olympic medal. I’ve achieved every medal at every championships except for that thus far. But I think I still have a really good opportunity in Los Angeles.”

On still pushing at the age of 32:

“At 32, honestly I feel like 27 so thank God for blessing me with health and strength, and thank my family for the genes. I don’t really think about age. I just think about having fun and trying to compete. I’ll keep on pushing.”

 

Zaynab DOSSO (ITA) – women’s 60m

On happy memories coming back to Toruń Arena:

"Oh yes, definitely. I'm super happy because in Toruń every time I have good energy so I can't wait to just splash, splash, splash!"

On going under seven seconds again:

“Yes for sure. I’m very faithful because I work a lot and this year different from other years, I don’t feel I have prove anything to anyone just to myself. I’m just here to enjoy.”

On completing the set of World Indoor medals:

“What’s next? Gold I hope so. I work for this goal so let’s see.”

On her battle with Julien Alfred:

“I’m excited to see what we can together because Julien is a great, great starter so I can’t wait to see what we can do.”

 

Andy DIAZ HERNANDEZ (ITA) – men’s triple jump

On his preparation for these championships:

“My preparation went very smoothly. I hadn’t considered competing this winter season but, given that it went so well, why not come out here to try and relive those moments from one year ago when I won the last world indoor title.” 

On his goals and aspirations for the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships:

“I am focused on not losing that spark you get from competing. Of course, also in winning again I am out here to try and feel the same way I felt a year ago.”  

On being part of such a strong Italian team:

“It is an incredible team, full of positive energy and a strong drive to win. It is also a very young team. I am the oldest one and being surrounded by the younger ones gives me extra motivation to keep on training.” 

On being coached my Fabrizio Donato [fellow triple jumper and bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games] 

“I have been lucky to find and to be able to train with one of my oldest references. He gives me very good advice daily not only to achieve my goals but also to stay focused 100%.” 

 

Marie-Julie BONNIN (FRA) – women’s pole vault

On being the defending champion:

“I feel a little bit stressed but I just want to come here and have fun. I need to focus on what I am going to do on Sunday and forget about the gold I won last year.”

On her shape: 

“I set a national record a couple of weeks ago which proves to me I am in good shape. I was happy when I saw the height progression and I hope I can jump 4.80m - this is one of my main goals here.”

On her rivals in the field:

“The competition will be like a dance. There are so many girls jumping around 4.70m or higher so it will be a great competition. I am glad to be part of it. I need to be at the best of of my best abilities to win and will need to clear all the heights from the first attempt in order to win a medal.”

On her targets:

“I want to have fun and be playful. Whenever I feel like this, I perform the best. I am still young, I want to give my best and be proud of myself at the end of the competition. Definitely, I want to win a medal.”  

 

Patrizia VAN DER WEKEN (LUX) – women’s 60m

On her shape and winning bronze at the last World Championships:

“I was in Toruń a couple of weeks ago when I set a PB so I have good memories from this arena. I am looking forward to the championships. Winning bronze last year gave me a confidence boost. I have done it before, I should be able to do it again. I do not want to underestimate myself but I also do not want to underestimate the other girls.”

On running three races in one day:

“Running three races in one day feels fine. I have done it twice last year but I have never done it before that. I just need to manage my energy level and I will be fine.”

On rivals:

“Anyone from the start lists can be a threat. I definitely want to medal again. If I am able to bring my A game and run decent times, I should be happy. I want to run the best possible races and a medal would be the silver lining. I was very close to running seven seconds, that is something I want to achieve. I do not want to stress too much about it already but I definitely feel good and fresher than earlier in the season.” 

 

Maciej WYDERKA (POL) – men’s 800m

On being a medal contender:

“Coming into these championships as the third fastest entrant gives me motivation but I try not to think about it too much. Past performances do not win medals. I am mostly thinking about making the final and we will see what comes after that.”

On his approach to running the rounds: 

“We have to wait for the start lists before we get to think about tactics for the rounds. It is obvious you want to save as much energy as possible. My approach tomorrow will be to make it through as easily as possible. The semis will be the hardest. I just try to stay calm, there is no reason to get too stressed.” 

On today's training session:

“The plan for today was to get extra warm-up and to make friends with the track. Even though I know it well, it is always good to get used to it once again. The atmosphere is different now with this being a world championships. It was a good workout and the racing tomorrow should be good too.”  

On his main rival:

“The one person I think about is Eliott Crestan. As far as I know, we will not run against each other in the heats, possibly the semis. He is a good athlete to follow in a race. I have raced him a few times this winter and I would like to beat him this time but first we have to get into one race - hopefully it will be the final.“

 

Lieke KLAVER (NED) – women’s 400m 

On the one-year anniversary of winning a European indoor title:

 “I am still proud every day that I am a European champion. Every season is different and I am yet to run my good times. I am feeling good and super curious about how I am going to race.” 

On any changes to her training ahead of this season:

“We did some changes - a bit more running as we wanted to see if this would change my top speed, which it didn’t. We’ve changed a few things but not too much as I don’t like change things too much. I trust my coach’s programme.”  

On her thinking process during races, and other events that she would like to try:

“I just think about my task, I don’t hear anything. Most of the time, I don’t think about anything, I simply feel my body. That’s how I like to run my races. Maybe the 100m or 200m. The heptathlon would be a good one for me."

 

Nadia BATTOCLETTI (ITA) – women’s 3000m

On her preparation and overall mood ahead of these championships: 

“Today is the last day of Ramadan so I just ate like five minutes ago. My mum is from Morocco and my dad is from Italy, and I am Muslim. So this month was a little bit tough to prepare for these championships with these conditions. But I have a superb staff that supports me and understands what is the best for me.” 

On having a great cross-country winter and turning into indoor running:

“We did not change many things when it comes to the training outdoors because I live in the mountains and we do not have any indoor arena near my home. So, we did only two or three indoor trainings and we trained mostly outdoors.” 

On her third appearance in Poland:

“This is my third time in Poland and I was running in Silesia before. So, it is somehow familiar and it is beautiful to compete here.” 

 

Lurdes Gloria MANUEL (CZE) – women’s 400m

On her ambitions and readiness to compete in Toruń:

“I arrived here with the highest ambitions and my dream is to get as far as possible, and be able to compete with the best runners. I managed to run very solid times when you consider the fact that I was injured for nine months and could not compete. But now, we are curious what I am going to show here.”

On her 400m tactics: 

“We always talk about tactics with my coach on the evening before the race. I am sure that every race will have a different scenario and different tactics.” 

On competing after a long injury:

“I wanted to mention the mental part of this sport. Last year, I was waiting until the very last minute to see whether I was going to run in Tokyo. In the end, we decided with my coach to skip it even if I was able to run there. But the top shape was not there and we thought that maybe I would have regrets after the championships. But with the rest and relaxation, being away from the competitions, calmness and other parts like good food, the right dietary supplements I realised how it is all important and it really opened my eyes. I hope I will keep this experience and this attitude as long as possible for the future.”  

 

Cole HOCKER (USA) – men’s 1500m

On his feelings in the arena:

“The arena is really cool. It is like one of the coolest indoor facilities I have been to. And I got a feel for it this evening - it feels good and it feels fast.”

On booking his place on the US team:

“It means a lot to be here. Making the US team is always so hard to do and it is just an honour. Now, I just have got to perform. I love indoors. I have been running indoor track since high school so I feel like it is just another track meet for me. I did not prepare any differently. It is a championships and I have been to a few of them at this point, so I am feeling pretty confident. And yeah, I love shorter laps. This year the winter was cold, so we trained a lot indoors anyway.”

 

Jakub SZYMANSKI (POL) – men’s 60m hurdles

On his goals and expectations:

“I want to be the best, to win gold here. I want the Polish national anthem to be played for me since it is hard to tell if anyone else can make that happen, and the Polish fans deserve it. My prediction is that the gold medal will be won in 7.34 and that I will be the one to do it.”

On what competing in front of home crowd will be like: 

“My family, my friends, everyone who is dear to me will be here. It gives me great motivation but it is also a great responsibility. I will be doing it for them but mostly for myself. I know the stands will be full, the energy of the crowd will be flowing and I want to drink as much of it in as I can.” 

On his plans before the competition:

“I just came to the arena today to observe my rivals. I already saw one of the Americans but not everyone is here today. I want to conserve energy so I am not staying for long. The plan for the final hours before the competition is to do things that are fun but also peacefu  like watching a football game. And also not to think too hard about what is coming. I have thought about it enough for the past year. I will just accumulate energy so I can release it on the day.”  

On his recent national record:

“The 7.37 I ran in Berlin was a message to the world. But to be honest, I did not need that race. Of course I was happy, but that was not my main goal for the season. I have known since last year what I want to do here and I believe that is what was meant to happen here on Polish soil.“

 

Miltiádis TENTÓGLOU (GRE) – men’s long jump

On how he’s feeling going into the competition:

“This indoor season has been very good for me. If you see me in the past years – I did 8.20, 8.30 at some meetings. This time, I did not care a lot about the result at the meetings, instead I wanted to do them as training. So, I managed to jump 8.27, 25, 23, so I am satisfied. If you do more, it does not matter for a meeting, nobody cares. But here, I think I will be able to jump way better and be back to my normal self.”

On his mental strength and need to win:

“It does not matter if I take a second place at a [pre-championship] meeting, it is OK. I just want to win when it matters most. If I was second or third here, it would be a problem. But in the meetings, I do not mind. I lost many times even in my best years at some meetings, that’s ok. I am ready to fight for sure. To be honest, I will be surprised if I do not win here.” 

Simon EHAMMER (SUI) – men’s heptathlon 

On the difference since winning a first global medal in Belgrade in 2022:

“It’s a big difference. Belgrade was my first appearance at the world championships and my first major medal at the highest level, and it was the start of all the success I had so far. Now I'm a little older and I think better than then plus I would say I'm a little calmer inside. I know what I can and what I need to do. It's not like everything is new around when you have lot of pressure. But one thing has not changed… I have the same goal. 

On his goal for Toruń this week:

“It's clear, I want to win the gold and to beat Kyle (Garland) so I must find a way to do it. He is really strong but I’m strong and fit too. I will try to do my best to get the European record for me because last year I had it but Sander (Skotheim) was better. It's always the goal to make a new PB and national record. I should be focused from discipline to discipline and hopefully we will see a big score.“ 

 

Nicola OLYSLAGERS (AUS) – women’s high jump 

On how important the indoor season is to her:

“The indoor season is always special because I haven't done many competitions indoors. For me, the challenge is the new circumstances of being indoors. When you jump, you don't have the sky but the roof above you so that's something new. Also the track is very responsive, it’s perfect for jumping. But, because you're not used to it, it can be difficult to get the most out of it. So that's always my challenge coming from outdoors.”

On her feeling of the track in Toruń: 

“I felt I was very fast on my runway during the training session tonight. Being fast is good because it means I don't have to put as much effort in to get speed. But the difficulty is, if you try and put the exact same amount of effort and speed like outdoors, you then hit the bar off because you're too close to the pit in your take-off. The new challenge is how do we get over two metres indoors? Of course, I know I can do it, but discovering how is my next challenge.”

On defending her title:

“Coming into the championships, I'm not thinking about the title but I think about the joy of being here. I love to jump and I feel like it's a gift that God has given me, and I give it back to him. Whether I win, whether I lose tomorrow, keeping that joy as the centre point of why I'm here, that allows me to jump high. If I focus on the title, I think it all goes wrong. I need just to keep my focus right.”